Happs Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) Hi, I was fortunate enough to pick up a copy of GT5P yesterday (Aus) and it is very impressive. I only managed to play about 2hrs worth of it last night, but I’ll give you my early impressions. Unfortunately the on-line connection was not yet available (maybe because the formal release date is the 27th March?), so I cannot comment on the on line stuff just yet, but I hope it’s up soon. I am running it on a 1080p screen and I can confirm that the game play graphics are just as good as the screen shots we’ve all been seeing recently. Many people were concerned that the still images we’d seen were enhanced, but to the best of my ability; I cannot see a difference between them and the game play/racing/replay footage. There are no jaggies, the frame rate is super smooth and the replays (even at a lower frame rate) are not noticeably different. The menu system and user interface is much more intuitive than the previous versions of GT. It is very simple to buy and sell cars, to enter races, to change car setup etc… I think it’s really great. I haven’t had an opportunity to do a 2P split screen race, but the option is certainly in the menu which is a great addition to the game. In terms of the races themselves, just like in pervious versions, some races are open classes, some are restricted (FF, FR etc…) so it still pays to have a garage with a few different vehicles in it. The races are fantastic. There are obvious enhancements to the AI cars. They cover their lines better, overtaking is more difficult (you now get penalised for ploughing into the sides of cars!) and it just feels less one dimensional. Other than the graphics being awesome, the sound effects are amazing!! The car engines sound brilliant and just like the ‘real things’ and depending on the view, the engine sounds change quite a lot to reflect true in-car vs. behind car sound effects. Now my favourite – the in-car camera is just awesome!!! I was looking forward to it, but sceptical at the same time. More often than not, when racing from the in car view, it limits the visibility of the road, your surrounds, competitors and obstacles, but PD seem to have found a fantastic balance between displaying all the relevant dash board information for the driver, without negatively impacting on visibility. You can more than comfortably race from the drivers view in traffic and remain very competitive. The steering, gear change and hand brake animations are good and run smoothly with little delay from controller input. I used to be a ‘behind the car’ camera guy; this has converted me in one evening. And the detail and in the dashboard is great, right down to how the shadows form on it as you go around a track. For those hoping this game will deliver, in my opinion it does, and then some!!! I hope to add more details as and when I get more game time and once the on line component is made available. Enjoy… EDIT: Last night the on line play was available so I’ll give you a quick update on that now too. There are some excellent features in on line play to ensure the races are as fair as can be. Some if it still needs some tinkering done (in terms of software/game development) I think so I’d expect this to be further refined for the final release. However it is a great on line experience. You have penalties imposed on you for ‘foul play’. Things like cutting corners or ramming other vehicles with get you a 5-10 second penalty. The penalty system is good, it limits your vehicles speed, so you don’t get the time added on, nor does it stop you car completely, it just limits your speed. This works quite well except a few times I incurred a cutting corner penalty because of spinning out on a corner. So I had already lost considerable time in recovering the car and getting back on to the track, only to incur an additional 5 sec penalty when clearly there was no foul play involved. The other great thing is PD has tried to resolve any intentional bad sportsmanship by identifying ‘sudden and erratic car movements’ and it ghosts the vehicle (I.e. so you can drive through a ghosted vehicle without collision or penalty). I guess this is to stop people deliberately blocking/crashing you to stop an overtaking or slip streaming manoeuvre. Also, to stop those people hell bent on ruining everyone’s fun, of you’re driving the wrong way around the circuit, the car ghosts as well, so you can’t have someone deliberately driving at you or ramming you head on. For the most part, these things work extremely well and from what I experienced last night it seems to make everyone race professionally and properly, but as I said, I’d expect some minor adjustments to further refine it. In terms of the racing itself, it was fantastic. There was no noticeable lag. The only time I saw a hint of lag was when there was a multiple car pile-up ahead of me on the Daytona track at over 300km/h. And when I say lag, it was merely that the cars seemed to spin a little less smoothly ahead of me, but it did not impact on my race, the was no slow down, lagging or anything on my system, simply my perception of the other vehicles. But it only happened in 1 race at extremely high speed!! So overall it was excellent. It was taking quite a while to find games, but I think this was more to do with the fact that I was playing an early release copy, so possibly not many people were on line yet last night. But with 1M Pal pre-orders alone, this will change very quickly!! The way it searches for a game is good too; it genuinely seems to search for players with similar internet speeds to make for a consistent gaming experience. The host is the person that starts from pole position and the grid fills up in order of connecting to the race so sometimes you have to start towards the tail end of the grid, but it’s not really a problem. So I think PD have done an excellent job of the online stuff so far, and it’ll only get better remembering this is only the Prologue versions of the ultimate game. I also played some Arcade mode games. What’s great about this is that it posts your best race and drift times on line so you can see how you compare to other racers around the world!! Also, if you choose to save your replay and upload it, you can watch other people’s replay which was an awesome feature (I used this quite a bit to learn how to better my times). I believe PD will be releasing an update at some stage to race friends on line. At the moment there is no way to directly challenge a friend to a race. Race set ups are random, but having the ability to challenge people on your friends list would be perfect (and I believe it’s on its way?!). There was no additional content on GT TV yet, I hope they post some car vids very soon!! OH and there is already a patch available for download to those of you picking up the BD version, expect it to take some time to install to your HDD, then to download the patch before you can get into your first race. But once in, you’ll be very impressed I’m sure! Edited March 27, 2008 by Happs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTBerzerk Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) Great mini-review Happs. I myself can't wait to get this baby, so I'm really curious to know where u got your leaked copy from. I haven't preordered mine, but I'm planning to go to a nearby game shop tomorrow lunch to get a copy. Oh, and can you (or anyone) tell me if the instruction manual is in colour? One thing that puts me off from buying Australian version is we get to pay more compared to US, but the US get thicker manual and in colour too. Edited March 26, 2008 by berzerker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attilathepun Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Thanks for the mini review. I promised myself that I wouldn't buy this, as paying $60 for an extended demo, when I don't even like racing games that much, is dumb. But I am such a graphics wh_re that I just know I will weaken and but it sooner rather than later Good on them for putting in split screen as well - though not having any AI in there at the same time is unfortunate. Racing games are great with two player IMO - removing it from Burnout for example was a travesty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) Oh, and can you (or anyone) tell me if the instruction manual is in colour? One thing that puts me off from buying Australian version is we get to pay more compared to US, but the US get thicker manual and in colour too. Hi Berzerker, no the manual is in B&W and is very thin!! Just the raw basics, I think there was 1 page explaining the controls and a few pages talking about the different game modes and on line stuff. So yeah it's very lite on. I got it from EB Games. A few friends got a call to say it was in stock and ready to be picked up too. Edited March 26, 2008 by Happs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) I promised myself that I wouldn't buy this, as paying $60 for an extended demo, when I don't even like racing games that much, is dumb. But I am such a graphics wh_re that I just know I will weaken and but it sooner rather than later Yeah I know what you mean, but I just couldn't wait 'another' 12 months for the final version!! And word on the street is it can be had for $45 from DSE with pre-orders. It's a pretty feature rich game for $45 prologue and all! Edited March 26, 2008 by Happs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suldaman Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 damn should have pre-ordered. Im guessing its too late to pre-order now that the official release date is tmro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonNo10 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I went to 2 different JB stores here in Melbourne and tried EB games and all refused to sell me the game today. All of them said sorry to be released tomorrow. The JB guy said the copies were at the back but still said no to selling me one. I'm glad it's good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chui2 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Thanks for the review Happs. Hope to pick up a copy tomorrow Cheers, Chui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiser202 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Yeh i went and got Condemned 2 today for xbox360 and they wouldnt give me GT5 prologue. Brought it out and said ahh sorry you cant have that. First time i felt like punchin a dude in the head in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTBerzerk Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Hi Berzerker, no the manual is in B&W and is very thin!! Just the raw basics, I think there was 1 page explaining the controls and a few pages talking about the different game modes and on line stuff. So yeah it's very lite on. I got it from EB Games. A few friends got a call to say it was in stock and ready to be picked up too. Thanks Happs. That's very disappointing. Why are we getting B&W manual for all Australian PS3 games for premium price? I don't get it. This might be off-topic, but I've got Uncharted and Ninja Gaiden both US version with coloured manual and very thick too. I prefer to get the most for the dollars I spend. I'm now thinking to wait for the US version instead, but I need to check if the online mode is region lock. ugh.. 17 April seems so far away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suldaman Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 another reason why ill be getting GT5P is cos of GT TV. Apparently bbc and sony/PD have struck a deal to let buyers of GT5P stream 40 Episodes of 'Top Gear' and a whole host of other racing related programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cialis Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 i got my copy today from gametraders the dude was quite happy to sell it to me as Happs says it really lives up to the hype, a must buy even if it is a demo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codysmum Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I hate you Happs!!! GRRRRRR All the shops I visited today denied me!! Oh well, tomorrow will be a hell of a good day! Who would have thought an extended demo could be so exciting? I hope I can sleep tonight now that I'm so excited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hi Everyone, the on line play was availabe last night so I have edited my original post to include some info on the on line racing for those of you interested!! In short, it was very good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 Thanks Happs. That's very disappointing. Why are we getting B&W manual for all Australian PS3 games for premium price? I don't get it. This might be off-topic, but I've got Uncharted and Ninja Gaiden both US version with coloured manual and very thick too. I prefer to get the most for the dollars I spend. I'm now thinking to wait for the US version instead, but I need to check if the online mode is region lock. ugh.. 17 April seems so far away... All is not lost mate, I had a look at the 'Manuals' section of the start screen and there is a full colour on line manual in the game itself. So honestly I wouldn't hold off on it to get a US version, and as you say the on line stuff may differ between regions. Plus it's very intuitive, you won't really need a manual for it and the on line stuff is pretty thorough. another reason why ill be getting GT5P is cos of GT TV. Apparently bbc and sony/PD have struck a deal to let buyers of GT5P stream 40 Episodes of 'Top Gear' and a whole host of other racing related programs. Yeah I'm definitely looking forward to this as well!! There was no new GT TV content up last night so I hope they put them up very soon!! i got my copy today from gametraders the dude was quite happy to sell it to meas Happs says it really lives up to the hype, a must buy even if it is a demo Good stuff - did you have any races on line? I hope I can sleep tonight now that I'm so excited How did you sleep?? hehe You'll be up all night tonight now too....!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bl0cka Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 What do you use for accelerate? Triggers or buttons? How'd they go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeHT Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Would be good if we could organise a group to take a few races online!! Anyone interested?? Haven't got a copy yet but will have it soon!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 What do you use for accelerate? Triggers or buttons? How'd they go? I use the analogue sticks. I prefer it because you can adjust the level of acceleration and braking input more than using the buttons. I also re-mapped the handbrake to R1, I just find it easier to use at R1 instead of the triangle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 Would be good if we could organise a group to take a few races online!! Anyone interested??Haven't got a copy yet but will have it soon!! Definitely interested but unfortunately you can't do that just yet.... All on line races at the moment are completely random. Apparently there will be an update so you can race people on your friends list so you can host race meets, but I don't know when this will be - hopefully soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bl0cka Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I use the analogue sticks. I prefer it because you can adjust the level of acceleration and braking input more than using the buttons. I also re-mapped the handbrake to R1, I just find it easier to use at R1 instead of the triangle... Yeah that's what I am interested in but I don't like the idea of using an analogue stick for accel/brake. So you haven't tried the triggers then? (which are crap compared to the 360 ones anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 Yeah that's what I am interested in but I don't like the idea of using an analogue stick for accel/brake. So you haven't tried the triggers then? (which are crap compared to the 360 ones anyway). No I haven't actually. I personally didn't like other racing games that use the trigger buttons so I stayed with the analogues. But you can definitely assign them to L2 and R2, you cna customise every button on the controller quite easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeHT Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 (edited) All sounds good .... looking forward to playing it, anyone tried it with a wheel?? Forza 2 and the Microsoft wheel was an excellent combo!! Are modifications etc available?? Edited March 27, 2008 by beeHT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happs Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 anyone tried it with a wheel?? No I haven't but I would love to!! There's a new one available (due April) designed by PD & Logitech specifically for GT5: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/gaming/p...72&cl=us,en It's on my wishlist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bl0cka Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 No I haven't actually. I personally didn't like other racing games that use the trigger buttons so I stayed with the analogues. But you can definitely assign them to L2 and R2, you cna customise every button on the controller quite easily. Forgive me if I am barking up the wrong tree here, but have you played a racing game on xbox? The triggers are brilliant, perfect range of motion to get a good analogue feel of how hard you have depressed your accelerator and brake, and you can't accidentally deviate a bit left or right like you can with the stick. I can't figure out why people don't like (good) triggers!!?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeHT Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 No I haven't but I would love to!! There's a new one available (due April) designed by PD & Logitech specifically for GT5: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/gaming/p...72&cl=us,enIt's on my wishlist... Looks unreal!! I couldn't wait so I bought one of the Driving Force EX wheels last year when they were on special in anticipation!! Playing the Jap GT5 demo and GT4 with it was heaps better than controller!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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